Synthesis of Two Key Fragments of the Complex Polyhalogenated Marine Meroterpenoid Azamerone

A concise route toward two advanced fragments in the context of the total synthesis of the unique natural product azamerone is reported. Key synthetic features include the enantioselective synthesis of an epoxysilane and its Lewis-acid-induced cyclization and the installation of the pyridazine ring via a formylation/condensation sequence. This route provides strategic insights into the chemistry of phthalazinediols, facilitating synthetic approaches toward this class of natural products

Microwave Lens for Polar Molecules

We here report on the implementation of a microwave lens for neutral polar molecules suitable to focus molecules both in low-field-seeking and in high-field-seeking states. By using the TE_11m modes of a 12 cm long cylindrically symmetric microwave resonator, Stark-decelerated ammonia molecules are transversally confined. We investigate the focusing properties of this microwave lens as a function of the molecules' velocity, the detuning of the microwave frequency from the molecular resonance frequency, and the microwave power. Such a microwave lens can be seen as a first important step towards further microwave devices, such as decelerators and traps.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Cross-Coupling Reactions of Monosubstituted Tetrazines

A Ag-mediated Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling method for 3-bromo-1,2,4,5-tetrazine with boronic acids is presented. Electronic modification of the 1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphine)ferrocene (dppf) ligand was found to be crucial for good turnover. Using this fast method, a variety of alkyl-, heteroatom-, and halide-substituted aryl- and heteroaryl-tetrazines were prepared (29 examples, up to 87% yield)

Boron Trifluoride-Mediated Cycloaddition of 3-Bromotetrazine and Silyl Enol Ethers: Synthesis of 3-Bromo-pyridazines

Pyridazines are important scaffolds for medicinal chemistry or crop protection agents, yet the selective preparation of 3-bromo-pyridazines with high regiocontrol remains difficult. We achieved the Lewis acid-mediated inverse electron demand Diels–Alder reaction between 3-monosubstituted s-tetrazine and silyl enol ethers and obtained functionalized pyridazines. In the case of 1-monosubstituted silyl enol ethers, exclusive regioselectivity was observed. Downstream functionalization of the resulting 3-bromo-pyridazines was demonstrated utilizing several cross-coupling protocols to synthesize 3,4-disubstituted pyridazines with excellent control over the substitution pattern

Diffusion in low-dimensional lipid membranes

The diffusion behavior of biological components in cellular membranes is vital to the function of cells. By collapsing the complexity of planar 2D membranes down to one dimension, fundamental investigations of bimolecular behavior become possible in one dimension. Here we develop lipid nanolithography methods to produce membranes, under fluid, with widths as low as 6 nm but extending to microns in length. We find reduced lipid mobility, as the width is reduced below 50 nm, suggesting different lipid packing in the vicinity of boundaries. The insertion of a membrane protein, M2, into these systems, allowed characterization of protein diffusion using high-speed AFM to demonstrate the first membrane protein 1D random walk. These quasi-1D lipid bilayers are ideal for testing and understanding fundamental concepts about the roles of dimensionality and size on physical properties of membranes from energy transfer to lipid packing

The Buffer Gas Beam: An Intense, Cold, and Slow Source for Atoms and Molecules

Beams of atoms and molecules are stalwart tools for spectroscopy and studies of collisional processes. The supersonic expansion technique can create cold beams of many species of atoms and molecules. However, the resulting beam is typically moving at a speed of 300-600 m/s in the lab frame, and for a large class of species has insufficient flux (i.e. brightness) for important applications. In contrast, buffer gas beams can be a superior method in many cases, producing cold and relatively slow molecules in the lab frame with high brightness and great versatility. There are basic differences between supersonic and buffer gas cooled beams regarding particular technological advantages and constraints. At present, it is clear that not all of the possible variations on the buffer gas method have been studied. In this review, we will present a survey of the current state of the art in buffer gas beams, and explore some of the possible future directions that these new methods might take

Search for Bs0→γγB_{s}^{0}\rightarrow\gamma\gamma and a measurement of the branching fraction for Bs0→ϕγB_{s}^{0}\rightarrow\phi\gamma

We search for the decay $B_{s}^{0}\rightarrow\gamma\gamma$ and measure the branching fraction for $B_{s}^{0}\rightarrow\phi\gamma$ using 121.4~$\textrm{fb}^{-1}$ of data collected at the $\Upsilon(\mathrm{5}S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider. The $B_{s}^{0}\rightarrow\phi\gamma$ branching fraction is measured to be $(3.6 \pm 0.5 (\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.3 (\mathrm{syst.}) \pm 0.6 (f_{s})) \times 10^{-5}$, where $f_{s}$ is the fraction of $B_{s}^{(*)}\bar{B}_{s}^{(*)}$ in $b\bar{b}$ events. Our result is in good agreement with the theoretical predictions as well as with a recent measurement from LHCb. We observe no statistically significant signal for the decay $B_{s}^{0}\rightarrow\gamma\gamma$ and set a $90\%$ confidence-level upper limit on its branching fraction at $3.1 \times 10^{-6}$. This constitutes a significant improvement over the previous result.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Search for a dark vector gauge boson decaying to π+π−\pi^+ \pi^- using η→π+π−γ\eta \rightarrow \pi^+\pi^- \gamma decays

We report a search for a dark vector gauge boson $U^\prime$ that couples to quarks in the decay chain $D^{*+} \to D^0 \pi^+, D^0 \to K^0_S \eta, \eta \to U^\prime \gamma$, $U^\prime \to \pi^+ \pi^-$. No signal is found and we set a mass-dependent limit on the baryonic fine structure constant of $10^{-3} - 10^{-2}$ in the $U^\prime$ mass range of 290 to 520 MeV/$c^2$. This analysis is based on a data sample of 976 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the Belle experiment at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Search for D0D^{0} decays to invisible final states at Belle

We report the result from the first search for $D^0$ decays to invisible final states. The analysis is performed on a data sample of 924 $\rm{fb}^{-1}$ collected at and near the $\Upsilon(4S)$ and $\Upsilon(5S)$ resonances with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider. The absolute branching fraction is determined using an inclusive $D^0$ sample, obtained by fully reconstructing the rest of the particle system including the other charmed particle. No significant signal yield is observed and an upper limit of $9.4\times 10^{-5}$ is set on the branching fraction of $D^0$ to invisible final states at 90\% confidence level.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PRD(RC

Search for the decay B+→K‾∗0K∗+B^+\rightarrow\overline{K}{}^{*0}K^{*+} at Belle

We report a search for the rare charmless decay $B^+\rightarrow\overline{K}{}^{*0}K^{*+}$ using a data sample of $772\times10^6$ $B\bar{B}$ pairs collected at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider. No statistically significant signal is found and a 90% confidence-level upper limit is set on the decay branching fraction as $\mathcal{B}(B^+\rightarrow\overline{K}{}^{*0}K^{*+}) <1.31\times 10^{-6}$.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PRD(RC